Purchase through random auctions or from reputed JDM dealership?

What is the difference between buying a car from a Japanese auctions with a help of middleman, and buying a car directly from a well reputed Japanese sports car dealer with an existing stock of JDM cars? In the followings, we answer this questions with several highlighted points in recommending you to always choose to buy from Japanese dealership with large existing stock of JDM cars.

1. QUALITY! When you purchase a car from the auctions, you usually need to do that purchase though a licensed middle man who can bid to the car in your name. In a result, you basically place a bid through a middle man to the car which none of you have personally inspected. This is especially the case when a US importer bids for cars from the USA in the auctions conducted in Japan. Thus, there is NO one who can give you any clear assurance for the quality of the car that you will get which can be a big surprise after you have already purchased the car!

2. COST! Always remember the trick. The main objective of the middle man is to make a profit out of your bid! Plus, if the middleman who you trust is not licensed/registered company in Japan, then this middleman needs to find another licensed middleman in Japan to bid for the car in your name whose objective is also to make money of out this bid. As a result you are paying double middlemen who are the most interested in making profits and transfer to responsibility to the person who will end up with owning the car. And this person is YOU!

3. TRUST! When a seller wants to sell a used car, it is sometimes a common practice that he/she hides the car’s faults and makes praises to make the sale. However, when this kind of information passes through several channels as illustrated in the example 2, a bad and rusty car can be described as a really good car. Notice, it starts with the auction, then Japanese middleman makes the praise and hides the faults, then your US middleman makes further of the same thing to make the sale for YOU. Then, you can easily end up with a car that you had never wanted!

4. GUARANTEE! When you purchase a car through a middleman, there is basically no one to make you any guarantees on the mechanical condition of the car that you will receive since the middlemen the most of the time can’t inspect the car personally. It is not like they own any of the cars that they offer to you, they simple see two or three random photos of the car provided by the auction house and based on that they make their recommendation of the car to you! As the commonsense commands, when you purchase a car without actually seeing it running, it is always at least better to check the detailed photos of it before throwing your hard earned money to it!

5. FRAUD! Almost in all cases, the middlemen request you to pay for the car even before they win it at the auctions! Consider this which happens quite often: What if they don’t win the car? Well, the most of the time they try to replace the car with similar ones available at the auctions for cheaper price. But then again there is no guarantees on anything! Your money is already gone and you can easily end up purchasing a car that your importer decided with a suggestion of another middleman in Japan whom all trying to make money out of this sale to YOU!